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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23714434">A Second Chance ((Old version, will no longer be updated))</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyBorb/pseuds/TyBorb'>TyBorb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:28:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23714434</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyBorb/pseuds/TyBorb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>((MOVED, PLEASE READ THE NEW VERSION))</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello, this version of 'A Second Chance' will no longer receive updates, but I will leave this here for those who enjoyed reading this version. No, it has not been discontinued, I've just updated it. I'm going to upload it as a separate story and that will be the 'official' fic that will be receiving more updates. Apologies for the spam!</p><p>I've been meaning to update the fic after starting chapter 3 after realizing I was rushing myself and I had no idea how to progress it, so I had to redo the first two chapters and move the story a tad slower this time. x-x Again, I will be leaving this old version of the fic up, perhaps for a while and delete it or keep it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>'To ash and dust, she returned...'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>    <em>The Silent Woods, although a land of sorrow and remains of the great owls, was all that she ever could come back to. The freezing rain was unnoticed, the carapace that covers her body protects her fragile body and the rain simply rolls off. The mud here was slick, but she knew the path that leads back to her safe place under her parents' wings was solid enough that she wouldn't have to worry about slipping. Stepping past the nest with the egg that would've been her sibling sitting silently, she slowed her pace and carefully walked under what would've been her father's wing and fell to her knees. She crawled the rest of the way to the stone-solid feathers and pressed her back against them, tucking the bone-like appendages against herself and curled into a fetal position and watched the rain fall before shutting her eyes.</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>A masked figure watches from the petrified trees with a sorrowful expression, gently clutching the fur on his chest with one hand and the other resting on the trunk of the tree he stood next to. He was nearby when he heard the threatening screeching of the owls and had followed to sound out of curiosity and saw the giant owls looking down at something with hatred. He saw a small figure retreating into the trees as the owls continued their threats toward it until it was out of sight. While the owls left, he followed the creature back to the ashen graveyard and stood in the shadows as it walked past the petrified remains of the great owls and it made its way to a pair that stood watching over their nest.<br/>
His chest ached at the thought of the poor, small creature seeking comfort under the corpses of its parents after being rejected. The creature gave off an aura of the Decay, but with its behavior, he can tell it was not lost to it, it was merely transformed by the Decay. It was still a child, still has yet to be influenced by others' hatred for it and turning into the monster they saw it as. Perhaps... He could foster it? Be its parent? Would it want that? He could try. He steps out from the shadows and carefully walks past the shards of stone and bone to the corpses of the two owls.</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>The pitter-patter of the rain was soothing, despite the place she's in being so dark and cold. She listened to the rain as it hit the mud, the stone, the wing shielding her. It was perhaps the only sound that could lull her to sleep. That is until she heard something from outside the shelter of the wing she hid under. The little creature squeaked when the sounds of something walking got closer and tried to hide by curling up even more and hid her face. If she can't see it, it can't see her. Unfortunately, her little theory didn't work when a presence appeared and she stopped moving, hoping the presence would be fooled into thinking she wasn't there. That didn't work either when she heard a voice.</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>The figure peeks from around the petrified wing, kneeling to make himself less intimidating to the small creature.</em><br/>
"Hello there, little one."</p><p>
  <em>The latter looks at the figure from the corner of her eye, a white orb manifesting from through the darkness she hid in. She made no noise and no movement, she just wanted to be alone, like how she was meant to be.</em>
</p><p>"It's alright, I'm a friend."<br/>
<em>He spoke with a soft tone, leaning down and tilting his head so his eye is level with the small creature's eyes.</em><br/>
"You don't have to be afraid."</p><p>
  <em>A friend? Isn't that what the owlets were meant to be before the bigger ones yelled at her? They called her a monster, a freakish thing, a "child born of Decay." The owlets felt afraid of her now. And what's this about him saying she doesn't have to be afraid? This stranger should be afraid of her, not the other way around.<br/>
The child scoots further away, hoping it would get him to leave.</em>
</p><p>"I know you want to be left alone, but I don't want to leave you here."<br/>
<em>The stranger attempts to get closer and reaches out a hand.</em><br/>
"I can give you a chance if you'll allow me to-"</p><p>A piercing shriek erupts from the small creature that startled the stranger, the inside of her mouth was an icy teal and her eyes glowed. She crawled further away and had her back pressed against the side of her parent's corpse and watched the stranger. </p><p>
  <em>He stared at the creature with a wide eye. Such an intimidating sound coming from such a small thing. It was clear it did not want to be bothered and as much as he hates leaving it there, it wants to be left alone. Sighing, he stood back up and took a couple of hesitant steps before he walked away.<br/>
Once by the trees, he glanced back to see if the little creature was in sight and saw it wasn't, not even its white eyes were visible from through the low-hanging fog. He turned his head away and stared at the ground, hesitant to leave. The only thing tempting him to return home was the freezing rain and the unsettling presence of the Decay and stone-turned creatures. There was no safety here, not for him. Sighing, he heads for the nearest path that led him to the edge of the woods where he can return to the safest parts outside of these Decay-ridden woodlands and back home.</em></p><p>
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</p><p>  													**</p><p>
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</p><p>    <em>It has been only two days and the weight on Sihir's shoulders has not lifted. For a whole night, he could not sleep. He felt bad for not trying hard enough, but every time he tried to convince himself that it was the child's choice to be left alone, the more his chest aches. The poor thing was rejected and felt like she was unwanted, for Willow's sake. How can he make himself not feel bad for giving the child what it wanted at that time when it needed something more? He got up from his bed and began pacing, trying to find something to do to clear his mind. He had already dusted his home the other day, swept the floor, pulled the weeds from the garden, trimmed the vines. There was nothing to do. His mind went back to the pitiful form of the child and immediately he stopped, then began to think. What if he visited it to show he wouldn't leave it alone? It would be selfish of him to try to bring the child to his home where its home was the woods, under its parents' wings, but it deserved a better life.<br/>
He's decided to go back to the woods to see if he can try again, this time, bringing an umbrella and a shawl to protect him from the cold and rain. After he left his home, he had gotten a few questioning looks from the Moki and other creatures. Surely he looks silly going out with a shawl and umbrella when the sun is shining and it is humid in the marsh, to which he silently curses at himself for having thick black fur covering the majority of his body. He had no answer to their looks, so he just nodded to them and continued on his way and eventually reached the backroads that led to the Silent Woods. Goodness, even with the sun barely shining here, it's still a sad place, and it was still cold. Opening the umbrella, he lifts it over his head, moves the tip of his tail close to his back and ventures into the open and follows the path he took from where he last saw the child back to where he just was.</em></p><p>
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  <em>Maybe it was his urgency to find the little one or the path was a lot shorter than he thought, but he was already looking at the towering bones of the owls that the small one was sheltered under. The fog seemed a lot thinner, but the shadows casting under the giant avians were still blacker than black and he can't seem to find the little creature. Sihir hoped that it was still there, maybe his return would have it start thinking that it would have a new friend that it can trust... if the adult owls hadn't already broken its trust in every other living thing. That... would be a horrible way to live, especially as a child.<br/>
He approaches the looming skeletons and peers into the darkness, looking for signs of the small child hiding somewhere. Nothing. He tries the other side. No child there, either. He sighs and looks up to the skulls of what would've been the child's parents and hummed sorrowfully. It was a saddening thing. The parents' last thoughts were that they would never see their children, yet one of them lives and it had never gotten the chance to hear their voices, be embraced by warmth or told how much they loved it. He wants to be there for its first time hunting, it's first time flying, whatever thing that would be praised by him. He may not replace the parents the little one never got to know, but he hoped he could bring it some joy by being its first friend.</em>
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  <em>Now, the whereabouts of the child. Where should he look first? Perhaps it was searching for food. Maybe he can wait for it to return, maybe surprise it that he had come back. Hopefully, it won't run away.</em>
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</p><p>**</p><p>
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  <em>All that she could find was the corpses of the grubs that starved due to the lack of nutritious leaves to eat. They were littered all around the bases of the trees, on the branches, some clung to the trunks of the trees. The majority of them had shriveled up but there were still some that were fat enough to be eaten, though they were tasteless. No sweet, juicy stuff, the grubs were colorless, and they weren't squishy enough. But it was all she had. Once she's had enough to eat, she makes the trip back to her nest, passing an owl that tried to shield itself from whatever came and wiped out all of the owls that stood bracing against the force. She took a moment to stop and wonder. Why of all the owls that perished here was she the only one to have survived? Why was she the only one in the nest to have hatched? Her sibling is gone, other eggs that would've hatched are gone as well, some turned to ash, others still intact but the owlets inside have probably rotted. She looks to a nearby nest with three eggs inside, the mother partially covering the nest with her whole body. The child walks over to the nest and leans down to duck under the mother's head and steps closer to the eggs. With a tiny talon, she taps the shell and leans in to listen. No response, not even a heartbeat or a chirp. She checks the other eggs, nothing. All silent. She coos mournfully before leaving the nest and mother alone, letting them rest in peace. It's just not fair. She would've had a friend to be with after the live adults yelled at her and her would-be-friends turned against her. The other owlets didn't seem to mind that she looked different. They looked, they saw nothing wrong, they wanted to be near her. But those adults... They told the owlets that she was not to be trusted. She was a monster to be because of the 'Decay'. Was that what everyone is so afraid of? This 'Decay' that has taken over the woods? Was that what had killed the owls that remained there? Well, those adults don't know her. She's not a monster. She just hatched! How could they accuse her of being a monster? If they wanted to see a monster... Maybe they will when she grows up. She'll show them a monster. Right now, she wants to go back to the nest and sleep.<br/>
The child makes it back to her nest and looks to the darkness that her parent's wing provided and begins to move towards it until she hears a voice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>"You are still here!"<br/>
<em>The voice came from behind the taller parent's wing and a familiar pale, oval-shaped mask peers around from behind the wing.</em><br/>
"I was beginning to wonder if you had left."<br/>
<em>He moved from around the wing and stood beside it.</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Why was he back? She was a monster, she scared him off. Maybe it wasn't enough to make him stay away, she thinks. So she shrieks again, trying to intimidate the stranger into leaving. When she fell quiet, she was shocked to see he was still there, although wincing from the noise. She tries again, thinking she can make him deaf and make him leave if she shrieks more. Again, no response other than him making a quiet sound. Why? Why won't he leave? She was about to make another attempt until the stranger began to walk towards her and she froze. Was he going to hurt her for making so much noise? What's he going to do? She flinched when a hand reached out towards her, but felt nothing. She cracks an eye open and sees a furry arm over her face. She can guess that the hand was on her head, but she can't feel it. Looking up, she can see that the stranger had a calm posture, his only visible eye had a gentle gaze. The gaze felt so warm and inviting, it caused her to step back in panic. It was such a foreign feeling, it felt as if his hand was giving her warmth from the inside. How did he do that?</em>
</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>"It's weird to have someone be nice to you, isn't it?"<br/>
<em>Sihir spoke softly and knelt, resting the umbrella on his shoulder and reached his hand out again.</em><br/>
"I can promise you, I can give you what you want, and that's a friend."</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tilting her head, she looks at the hand, then at the stranger's face and back at the hand. She takes a few cautious steps toward him and reaches her foot out, then stops and brings her foot back, shaking her head. Bad memories are coming back. </em>
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</p><p><em> Hm. Sihir brings his hand back also and rests his elbow on his knee and looks at how she stood. Reluctant, scared... how her small form shook, it wanted to make him cry from how miserable the poor thing looked. He hummed in thought before he spoke.</em><br/>
"Perhaps I was rushing ahead. I should allow you to get to know me first."<br/>
<em>He found a flat rock to sit on and leaned forward.</em><br/>
"My name is Sihir."</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>The creature looks back to Sihir and slightly tilts her head as she repeats his name in her head. S... Seh...</em><br/>
"Siir?"<br/>
<em>The little creature spoke as she tilted her head nearly at an angle.</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>Sihir nodded, seeming happy that she finally spoke to him.</em><br/>
"That was close, little one. Well done."</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>That got her to perk her head up and tilt it in another angle. She felt... proud. She was praised. The warm feeling returned to her chest and she welcomed it this time, allowing herself to get a chance to feel this. She turns her head away as she begins to process the feelings she's getting. It was so strange but it made all of her worries vanish. She looks back up to Sihir with another tilt of her head.</em><br/>
“Kind. Nice.”<br/>
A pause.<br/>
“Friend?”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>Warmth swells in his chest when the little one realizes that she finally had a friend. He reaches his hand out again, attempting to gain her trust for the second time.</em><br/>
“If you’re not ready to leave here, I can still come back until you are. But you’ll always have me as a friend.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>She looks at the hand and reaches out, no hesitation this time and touches his finger with a talon, then gently grasps his finger and looks up at him.</em><br/>
“Friend, won’t leave me. Will visit.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>Sihir nods.</em><br/>
“I’ll always visit.”</p><p>
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</p><p>
  <em>The child tightens her grip a bit, then lets go and waddles closer and bumps her head against Sihir’s fluffy chest.</em>
</p><p>
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  <em>He wasn’t expecting her to be this close already, so this was a surprise. Still, it was warming to know that she trusts him now, despite knowing him for two days. She really needed this… He lays a hand over her back and lightly runs his hand over the bone-like carapace.</em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>“Will you stay?”<br/>
<em>She asked and looked up at him.</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“What do you mean?”<br/>
<em>He tilts his head, leveling his eye with hers.</em></p><p>
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</p><p>“Stay here.”<br/>
<em>The child leans back.</em></p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Ah. I’m afraid I can’t.”<br/>
<em>He immediately felt bad from the look of disappointment on her face. Sihir rubs his thumb over what he thought was her shoulder.</em><br/>
“These woods are not safe for me. I would love to stay, but if I do, I might get turned to stone.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Oh.”<br/>
<em>She lowers her head and presses her forehead against his chest again.</em><br/>
“But you will visit.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Yes, I will.”<br/>
<em>His hand returns to its spot on the child’s back.</em><br/>
“I promise.”</p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p>
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</p><p>…</p><p>
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  <em>Sihir spent several hours with the small child, giving her the warmth she sought. When it came time for him to go, she didn’t want him to go but she felt afraid of leaving the woods because of the adult owls, fearing they will find her and take Sihir away. He gives her his shawl to keep, wrapping it around the small frame of the small creature that almost covered her entire form other than her head and the ends of her bony stilt-like arms. He promised he would return the next day, and he did.<br/>
The child was thrilled, running over to him, still wearing his shawl and tripped over it. She got up quickly and waddled the rest of the way on her feet with her bone-like limbs outward and wrapped them around his leg. The sight was absolutely adorable, he laughed and rubbed her head. Just from that alone made his day. He brought a book with him this time, a storybook he read when he was little. With the child settled in his lap, he read the book to her. It was the story of a little Spirit that went to the Luma Pools to look for the rare Luma Lilies but got lost after being distracted by the many colors and pretty animals and stayed the night at the Luma Pools. The story ends with the Spirit finding the Luma Lilies and after watching the lilies float away, the Spirit returns home. The avian child was pleased with the story and asked for more stories, so Sihir told his own that he heard when the adults told stories to the kids, such as the one with a howler pup befriending a bear cub, a deer befriending a bunny and a skunk, and a sleepy tortoise that looked for a place to sleep, any story he could think of that didn’t have a depressing turn. The little one enjoyed the stories and nearly fell asleep a couple of times, snuggled against him. The trust was growing strong.</em>
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  <em>For two more days he visited her, bringing live, juicy grubs for her to eat as well as new things for her to discover, one of which was a doll he crafted. It wasn’t the prettiest and the head was too heavy, but it was made to look like him for the little one to snuggle with. One day, he thought of something.</em>
</p><p>
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</p><p>“Dear child, I believe we’ve gone this long without you having a name. How about I give you one?”</p><p>
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</p><p>S<em>he looked up at Sihir with the doll version of him sitting in her lap and tilted her head.</em><br/>
“I’d like that.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Figured you would.”<br/>
<em>He chuckled.</em><br/>
“I believe I have one in mind. How do you like ‘Anak’?”</p><p>
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</p><p><em>She lifted her head and nodded her head quickly.</em><br/>
“I like it! I like it lots!”</p><p>
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</p><p><em>He smiled, though it was hidden behind the mask he wore, but the glimmer in his eye showed he was happy.</em><br/>
“I’m glad.”</p><p>
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</p><p><em>Anak giggled and lifted the doll with her stilt-like arms.</em><br/>
“Sihir?”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“I… I think I’m ready to go home with you.”<br/>
<em>Anak said shyly and looked up at him, those big eyes hoping he would bring her home.</em><br/>
“I want to see you more and hear your voice. I want to be held.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>Ah, there’s the lump in his throat. He’s way too emotional, he will admit. Sihir lifts Anak into his arms and cradles her.</em><br/>
“I’ll be happy to bring you back home.”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p><em>Anak hummed sleepily and buried her face into the fur on his neck and held the doll close.</em><br/>
“Can we go now?”</p><p>
  <em></em>
</p><p>“Of course.”<br/>
<em>Sihir looks up to the petrified skeletons of Anak’s parents, then turns and walks down the path he took every day to visit the little owl. This will be the last time he will walk down this path, the last visit. Now she’s safe.</em></p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p>
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</p><p>…</p><p>
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</p><p>
  <em>He was expecting the nervous looks from the Moki when he brought her back. He reassured them that all is well and they have nothing to fear. Some Moki felt somewhat comfortable, others narrowed their eyes. Their looks were ignored. Thankfully Anak was asleep so she didn’t notice the Moki watching with suspicion. It’s best if she wasn’t bothered with such looks now, he wanted to give her the best life possible after her first day in the world started badly.<br/>
His home was in view. Hidden safely in the Inkwater Marsh, a little hut in an opening with a large, round wooden door and a wooden covering propped up over a window. The leaves were sewn with thread, the sticks and branches supporting its frame stuck together with sap and vines. A raised garden was in front of the hut, surrounded by boards and filled to the brim with nutritious soil for the plants and flowers and pebbles to keep the pesky rolly pollies from burrowing into the roots. A safe little spot for a creature like Anak to grow up in, surrounded by plenty of bugs to eat and a play area large enough for her to explore and play in. Sihir enters the hut and silently closes it and walks to his bed and lays Anak in it and watches as she immediately snuggles into the soft straw. He pulls a blanket over her and pats her softly, then reaches over to lower the window latch so she can nap without the sunlight in her face. He then takes a look around his hut and begins to visualize where he should put Anak’s own nest. Somewhere close to him so she can see him. He taps the bottom of his mask with a finger as he thinks. He looks to the empty corner close to his bed and nods. Perhaps there. Maybe he’ll make it later, Anak would want to be as close to him as possible for a few days no doubt. Maybe he can expand his bed so there’s room for two of them, unless she chooses to lay on top of him. However she chooses to sleep and is happy with it, he’ll let her, even if it's uncomfortable for him. For now, he’ll let her sleep. He’s got a garden to tend to now.</em>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The child learns something new and gains something new.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HEY GUYS, GUESS WHO LIED. HHHHHHHA-<br/>No, but seriously. Two days after I said this was going on hiatus, an idea fairy came into my house and told me what I needed to do. :| So, uh, sorry for that. Next time I feel like I've hit a block, I'll try to let you guys know sooner instead of waiting. Instead of making a "fake chapter", I'll leave a comment to give you guys an update. But the second chapter is finally out! It feels like it ended abruptly, but I feel like it's good enough. Next time I'll try to make it end good. Hope you guys enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cozy… safe… the little creature breathes in deeply, then breaths back out, the air hitting the bony covering over her face and tickling the feathers beneath, stirring her from her sleep and making her sneeze. Anak cracks open her eyes and sees she was someplace else, somewhere with warm light filtering in and lighting it up. When her blurry vision clears, she can see that where she was is sheltered by carefully woven leaves and grass layered over each other. The dappled light of the sun danced on the wall she was looking at and she turned over to look up and see that there was a piece of wood being propped up on a stick and more leaves above with the sun filtering through the leaves. Anak rolls back onto her stomach and looks around, but sees no Sihir anywhere, but she can hear someone humming outside. Sitting up, she stretches her legs and stilts then shuffles to the edge of the comfy bed she was in and places her stilts on the ground, then pulls herself up. She hadn’t noticed the blanket she dragged halfway off the bed as she began exploring her new environment. There was another level up above with a ladder leading up to it, but it looks too hard for her to climb. She looked over the wicker baskets in a corner, some were empty and others had grass, straw, and leaves inside. In another corner was a heavy-looking, half-round object hanging over flat rocks stacked onto each other. She walks over and raises herself up to look inside and sees it was empty. What was this thing? Anak headbutts it with her head and barely makes it swing. She further inspects the funny looking object, walking around it and raising a brow. Weird.<br/>   She turns her attention to the open door and walks to the threshold and peeks outside. The sun was in a different spot and was at its zenith, shining down on the marsh with a gentle warmth that Anak certainly did feel as she stood in its rays. She hears the singing again and looks around for the source of it, venturing out further into the open space and turning in a circle as she looks for where the singing is coming from and finds out where it is. Behind the hut. She passes the garden in front of the hut and peeks around the corner to see Sihir laying in a hammock, partially in the shade and in the sun. She walks over and stands beside the hammock Sihir is laying in and tilts her head, listening to him sing. She can’t understand the words, they’re so foreign to her but his voice is so relaxing. She had just woken up so she isn’t tired now, but she is going to stay and listen so she sits down and closes her eyes and sways to his singing.</p><p>   Completely unaware of Anak appearing beside him, he was lost in thought. The sound of the creek and the whisper of the trees in the wind lured him to his hammock after working in the garden and he was enjoying the calming sounds for a moment before he would do other things. He couldn’t help but start to sing as he lays in the hammock. It’s a song his people like to sing, one that is a favorite. When he sings the last part of the song, he hears humming mimicking the singing. He looks over to the right and sees no one, then he looks to the left and sees Anak. It would be an exaggeration to say he almost jumped out of his fur, but he certainly did jump. He was not expecting anyone to be next to him while he was singing and he felt his face heat up. He seems to have startled Anak since she was looking at him with wide eyes.</p><p>   “H-hello there, little one.”<br/>   Oh jeez, he heard his own voice cracking. Sihir clears his throat and silently breathes out while smoothing out the fur on his legs.<br/>   “Did you sleep well?”</p><p>   “I did.”<br/>   Anak wiggles her silts as her bottom eyelids arch upward.<br/>   “What were you singing?”</p><p>   “Ah, it’s something my people like to sing.”<br/>   He said as he sat up and crossed his legs.<br/>   “It’s a song about joy, one that brings everyone together.”</p><p>   “Then why were you singing it alone?”<br/>   Anak says as she tilts her head.</p><p>   “Well, it can be sung by one individual. It’s still an uplifting song that can be enjoyed alone.”</p><p>   “Oh.”<br/>   She then gets up quickly, her stilts wobbling as she tries to find balance.<br/>   “Maybe you can teach me and we can sing together!”</p><p>   Oh. He usually joins in instead of starting the song, he couldn’t bring himself to start singing in front of others on his own. If it will make Anak happy, he will do his best.<br/>   “Of course. I’ll need to teach you how to speak Inuwanese, because I don’t know how to sing it in Niwenese.”</p><p>   “I wanna learn! I wanna sing the pretty song!”<br/>   Anak was bouncing with excitement.<br/>   “Can you teach me now?”</p><p>   Sihir chuckles.<br/>   “I can, yes.”</p><p>   Anak makes a cheerful sound. It sounds like chirping, but more growly. </p><p>   Sihir smiles from behind his mask and leans back.<br/>   “Before I can teach you to sing, I need to tell you a bit about our language. My people’s language is an odd one. Many who are unfamiliar with it hear it as low humming and soft-spoken words. Like this.”<br/>   “V’ei sah kuur ef ul heshak.” *<br/>   As he spoke, there was a low sound in the back of his throat that, as he said, sounded just like humming. </p><p>   “Oooo.”<br/>   Anak’s eyes were wide. It sounded pretty<br/>   “It doesn’t sound too hard to learn.”</p><p>   Sihir shook his head.<br/>   “Without trying to imitate the humming, it isn’t. It’s quite easy. Let’s start with the easy words.”</p><p>   Anak nods her head eagerly, her little feet wiggling.</p><p>   “Now, repeat. “Esu’ul”.”</p><p>   “Eh… sool.”</p><p>   “Close. Try it again.”Esu’ul”.”</p><p>   Anak puffs out her chest and repeats again.<br/>   “Es ool.”</p><p>   “One more. You can do it.”<br/>   Sihir leans forward.</p><p>   Nodding, she stands as tall as she can. She can do it, she CAN do it.<br/>   “Esu’ul.”</p><p>   “There it is! You got it!”</p><p>   Anak’s eyes widened and she started bouncing in joy.<br/>   “I did it!”<br/>   Bouncing then turned to hopping before she settled down.<br/>   “What does ‘esu’ul’ mean?”</p><p>   “It means ‘easy’.”</p><p>   “Oh! Well, it <em>was<em> easy.”</em></em></p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Indeed it was.<br/>   “Do you want to try a harder one?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Hm… Can we still do the easy words?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “We certainly can.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak walks up to the hammock and tries three times to get one leg up so she can climb in. Sihir was going to help but she was determined to get up on her own. After four more attempts, she finally got one leg into the hammock and lifted one lower leg up and caught the fabric with one little talon. Getting close. She looks up at Sihir, thinking about asking him to help. No, she can do it! Scooting her lower leg further, she grabs Sihir’s tail, gently, and works getting her other lower leg up. One foot in, now to get the rest. If she can just get her knee in… she can push herself in more. The problem with the carapace over her body is that it limits her movement, it’s too stiff. She was getting tired already.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “You can do it.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Encouraging words from Sihir gave Anak a little confidence boost and she lifted her second leg in. She didn’t even have to push herself up because she rolled right over and was laying on her back in the hammock. All that effort took a lot of energy out of her, she was panting. Perhaps a little too exaggerated with how tired she felt, but she didn’t need to ask Sihir if she could take a quick break. She can tell he’s patient.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Once she caught her breath and had the energy to learn again, she continued her lesson with Sihir on how to speak his language. The lesson lasted a half hour before Anak became distracted by the sounds of mewling from somewhere in the shrubbery. She sways her body and bobs her head as if to hone in on where the sounds are coming from. Typical owl behavior when they hear a sound and try to pinpoint its exact location. Despite being deformed, she is no less an owl underneath that hard exterior of solidified Decay. Sihir wonders what she looks like underneath. It’s hard to see because her face is so dark underneath the skull-shaped mask, even her eyes make it difficult to see if she had feathers.<br/>   Anak scoots to the edge of the hammock and places both stilts on the ground before pulling herself off of the hammock, then looks to Sihir. She wants to go investigate the mewling. Sihir nods his head to the shrubbery the mewling is coming from and Anak is off to go look.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak pokes her head past the tightly woven branches of a bush and sees furry creatures bounding about, chirping and squeaking. She watched them from her spot, tilting her head as the smallest roll over each other and wrestle, one pinning another onto their back. The adult creatures are watching with calm expressions, some laying down, others with half round objects in their paws and slurping something from them. <br/>   Then, one of the smallest notices her. She squeaks and tries pulling herself out from the cover of the bush, but her nubby horns get caught on a branch. With how much she’s pulling, it’s making the bush shake and it alerts the attention of the other furry creatures. Anak whimpers as she pushes against the ground and finally pops her head out of the bush, landing on her rear end and shaking her head. She can feel twigs stuck to her horns and rubs them off with the knuckles of her stilts, then notices some curious faces looking at her. Oops. Anak pushes herself up, though that startled some of the small creatures and they ran, the rest stayed, too curious about what she was to run.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   One hops through the hole she made in the bush and stalks up to her, sniffing the stilts and circling her before sitting up, tilting a head.<br/>   “What are you?”<br/>   The little creature mewled.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “An… an owl.”<br/>   Hm, that felt odd to say. She looked less like an owl.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The little creature tilts their head again.<br/>   “You don’t look like an owl. Where are your wings?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “I… I don’t know.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The furry creature stands onto their hind legs. They were almost as tall as she is.<br/>   “What about your feathers?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “On her shoulders.”<br/>   One of the furry creatures pointed out.<br/>   “Behind the dangly things.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Both Anak and the creature next to her look at her shoulders and see deep purple-blue feathers from behind the long, dangly things growing from her shoulders.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Those are owl feathers. So you must be one.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak nods.<br/>   “What about you? What are you?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “We are Moki! We don’t have feathers, just fur. We can’t fly, either. Good, too, because I get scared when I think of flying.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Really? Is flying a scary thing?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Not to owls. Owls are master fliers.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Silent fliers!”<br/>   One Moki chirped.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Good hunters.”<br/>   Another piped in.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak looks at her stilt-like arms and coos sadly.<br/>   “I may never fly. I don’t have wings.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The Moki’s ears drooped, then their ears raised up again.<br/>   “We can make you wings!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Can you?”<br/>   Anak’s eyes became big.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Yes! We can try to find big feathers and tie them to your arms.”<br/>   The Moki next to her waves a paw at her stilts.<br/>   “Then we can help you fly!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The stone-covered owlet smiles.<br/>   “That’s so nice of you!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “We Moki are kind. We will try to help in any way we can!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Yes yes!”<br/>   One little Moki squeaks.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Now now, little ones. Let us think this through.”<br/>   An adult Moki walks up to the youngins.<br/>   “Feathers are rare to find nowadays, let alone owl feathers. They’re all leaving Niwen, so you should think of another substitute for feathers.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “What’s a subzstitoot?”<br/>   The youngest one asks.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “A replacement.”<br/>   Another Moki three years older replied.<br/>   “If one thing doesn’t work, we try something else.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Hm… How about leaves?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “I’m afraid leaves aren’t strong enough, little one.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Not if we make them strong. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Let’s go, fellas!”<br/>   And with that, the young Mokis hop off to collect leaves.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak giggles. They’re so nice.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The adult Moki turned to Anak.<br/>   “They’ve taken quite a liking to you already.”<br/>   {Considering you’re from those woods…} She would have said those words out loud, but she didn’t have the heart to say something like that, especially since the child born from the ashes seems so bubbly and innocent. She would feel terrible for making the little one feel like she didn’t belong. Would it have been right to tell someone that same thing, when they are so young, when they have a whole life ahead of them that has the potential to be filled with comfort and joy?<br/>   “The little ones are usually shy when they meet strangers. You seem to be an exception.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   If Anak could, she would’ve scratched the ground shyly and hid her stilts behind her back.<br/>   “That’s nice to hear, since I look so scary.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Scary? Nonsense. Different, but not in a bad way.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “The adult owls thought I was different in a bad way.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Ah, that is right. She remembers how the Mokis watched her be rejected. Some say she should stay in the woods, saying it would be safer for her and everyone else. The Moki herself? She used to think that, but interacting with the deformed owlet now? She can see she has the potential to be kind, to be a good friend. And the rumors of her being taken in by a stranger who had the bravery to step into the petrified woods to bring her back outside of the woods? They certainly saw something in this poor creature, entering the world orphaned and seeing the land around her wasted with no hope of life.<br/>   “Well, they’re not here now. You have friends now.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak seemed to be reassured by those words.<br/>   “Thank you.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The Moki adult smiles. The poor child, but she seems happy that she has love all around her.<br/>   “What is your name, dear?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Anak.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “‘Anak’. What a lovely name. I’m Miki.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Hello, Miki. Your name is pretty, too.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   "Thank you, dear."</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The sounds of leaves rustling brought the attention of Anak and Miki to the bushes and the young Moki have returned with materials.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “We found the strongest leaves!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Sturdy leaves.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “Nice and wide, will not tear.”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “We also found some twine and some sticks to give the leaves a wing shape.”<br/>   The little Mokis lift up the items they’ve found above their heads to show.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak practically squealed with joy.<br/>   “All of you are so awesome!”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The young Mokis went straight to work, figuring out how to tie the leaves to Anak’s arms. Miki watched from the side, looking over once to see the commotion has attracted a few more curious faces. Neither of them seem to be concerned about the little Mokis being near Anak, so she returns to watching the young ones.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   After twenty minutes of figuring out how to get a good wing shape, -or at least as close to a wing as they can get- Anak’s arms now have leaves tied and stuck on with tree sap. Anak stands on her feet and starts wiggling her stilts. She looks to the young Mokis and they begin imitating wing flapping to show her how it’s done. She copied their arm movements, then began jumping and flapping harder. She fell with a heavy thud and was panting already. She looks at her stilts and gets back up before trying again.<br/>The adult Mokis were unsure if they should tell her to stop or let her figure out she may not fly. Her arms look too heavy to be used as wings and with how she was moving them, it looked… uncomfortable.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Anak tried one last time before falling backwards and sighed. She lifts one arm up and looks at it, saddened that she cannot fly with them. So she looked to the young Mokis and silently asked them to take the leaves off.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Sihir, watching from his hammock, shook his head sadly. Not everything can go the way anyone intended. Anak’s friends and Sihir himself will just have to do everything they can to make her happy.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Despite the fact she may never fly, Anak still was happy to have made friends already. By the end of the day, the Mokis had to return home and they bid Anak farewell for now. Anak walks back to find Sihir with a bowl.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   “I’ve found some grubs for you while you were playing. Let’s go back in and eat, shall we?”</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The stone-turned owlet nodded. She loved the grubs here. They’re so juicy and full of taste, better than the dead ones she ate back in the woods. She munched away, getting her fill until there was nothing left.<br/>When the time came to go to bed, she immediately walked over to Sihir’s bed and climbed onto it, making sure there was room for him and brought the doll he made for her close.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Sihir joined after he cleaned up and covered Anak with the blanket and laid down, removing his mask and setting it on the ground before shutting his eye. He felt Anak shuffle close, nestled comfortably between his arm and his side with her chin on his shoulder. Exhaling softly, he drifts off into sleep.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>…</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The morning sun shone through the leaves in the hut but it was soft enough that it didn’t disturb the residents inside. Well, one of them at least. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   Sihir had an arm slung over his face and was snoring, lost in the dream world and oblivious to the outside world, which is all calm and still. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   A woodpecker swoops down and perches itself on the closed window door that was right beside the bed. It observed the wooden window door for a moment before rapidly pecking at it to get into whatever may be inside, either for food or shelter.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>   The knocking of the woodpecker’s beak on the wood startled Sihir out of his sleep, throwing his arm to the window and startling the woodpecker outside.<br/>   “What?”<br/>   He mumbled. Half asleep, he couldn’t process what happened. His head drops back onto the cozy straw bedding and rubs his hands over his face, breathing out and moving his hands over his chest. He couldn’t be sure if it was a dream or if someone was knocking on something. Whatever it was, it was loud. Sihir gives himself a moment to wake up before propping himself up with his arms, then looks down to see Anak laying across him, blissfully unaware of what just happened. He was surprised he didn’t wake her up, nor the knocking. She must have been tired. <br/>Sihir wants to get out of bed, but he doesn’t want to disturb Anak. She could be asleep for another hour. Well, he doesn’t have a lot to do today, no need to rush to get out of bed, so he lays back down. He can feel Anak’s heartbeat and soft breathing. She truly feels at peace being here. He’s glad he gave her a chance at being truly happy.</em>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Cuteness, cuteness everywhere</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. ((UPDATE)) ((No new chapter yet))</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soooo I've been really quiet for a while. Sorry about that. </p><p>I'm reworking on chapters 1 and 2. Some gave some criticism and told me that Shriek shouldn't know how to talk yet since she's a newborn in this, so I'm going to make changes and have her behave more like a baby and have her interactions with the Moki happen later than sooner to give room for her to get to know Sihir more. I'll do my best with all of that. ;-; Plus, I've been thinking about rewriting the first two chapters, so it was bound to happen anyway, heh.</p><p>I'm still new to writing, I may pop into the official Ori server and ask for help, but updates will still be delayed due to writer's block. I'll try to get new chapters out sooner, but I can't make promises. Again, sorry for the delay! I'm slowly reworking on the first chapter, and it looks okay but I'll have a second pair of eyes look over. I don't know when I'll get finished with it, hopefully before the end of the year, lol.</p><p>So, uh, I see ya'll later when I rise from the dead again.</p>
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